Cambions

[Xuldarinar]

Simply information I felt like sharing, and creating a psudo-guide. I'd call it a handbook, but it isn't that in depth. Kind of an analysis I suppose. In any case..

Freaks, outcasts, demons. While cambion is a label that can be applied to any humanoid half fiend, true cambions come in two forms. Those that result from the union between a tanar'ri father and a planetouched mother, and those that result from the union between a demon lord or demon prince father and a half-fiend mother. Hideous to behold, their pitch-black scaly skin is covered in pock marks and their mouths are filled with crooked fangs. Carnivorous by nature, anything else leaves them ill.

Racial Traits:
Standard cambion:

Medium Outsider (chaotic, evil, extraplanar)
+6 Str, +4 Dex, +4 Con, -4 Wis (minimum 3), -10 Cha (minimum 2). If their Charisma penalty would reduce their Charisma score below 2, any remaining points are subtracted from Intelligence instead (minimum 3).
Medium size.
Base land speed is 40 feet.
Darkvision out to 60 feet.
Telepathy 100 ft.
Immunity to electricity
Immunity to poison
DR 5/good or magic
Resist acid 10, cold 10, fire 10
Spell resistance 16
Spell Like abilities (any 2 of the following, CL = HD): detect magic (at-will), fear (at-will), mirror image (at-will), invisibility (7/day), levitate (7/day)
Aligned Strike (weapons are treated as chaotic and evil)
Alternate form (Su): A cambion can assume the form of a specific Medium humanoid (typically a human, drow, elf, aasimar, tiefling, githyanki, githzerai, marrash, or gnoll, but sometimes a goblinoid) as a standard action once per day. This ability functions as a polymorph spell cast on itself as a 6th-level caster, except a cambion does not regain hit points for changing form and can assume only the form of that specific creature. A cambion can remain in its humanoid form until it chooses to return to its natural form.
Silent Metal (Ex): A cambion has no armor check penalty on Hide and Move Silently checks.
6d8 racial hit die
Base attack bonus +6
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +5
Racial Skills: 9 x (8 + Int modifier).
Class skills: Climb, Gather Information, Hide, Knowledge (local), Listen, Move Silently, Sense Motive, Spot, and Tumble.
Racial Feats: Their outsider levels give them 3 feats
+2 natural armor
Automatic languages: Abyssal, Common
Bonus Languages: Celestial Draconic, Elven, Goblin, INfernal
Favored Class: Rogue
Level Adjustment: +4


Marquis cambions and baron cambions:

Medium Outsider (chaotic, evil, extraplanar)
+2 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Con, +4 Int, +10 Wis, +10 Cha.
Medium size.
Base land speed is 40 feet.
Darkvision out to 60 feet.
Telepathy 100 ft.
Immunity to electricity
Immunity to poison
DR 5/good or magic
Resist acid 10, cold 10, fire 10
Spell resistance 16
Spell Like abilities (any 2 of the following. CL = HD): detect magic (at-will), fear (at-will), mirror image (at-will), invisibility (7/day), levitate (7/day)
Charm Person (at-will)
Aligned Strike (weapons are treated as chaotic and evil)
Alternate form (Su): A cambion can assume the form of a specific Medium humanoid (typically a human, drow, elf, aasimar, tiefling, githyanki, githzerai, marrash, or gnoll, but sometimes a goblinoid) as a standard action once per day. This ability functions as a polymorph spell cast on itself as a 6th-level caster, except a cambion does not regain hit points for changing form and can assume only the form of that specific creature. A cambion can remain in its humanoid form until it chooses to return to its natural form.
Silent Metal (Ex): A cambion has no armor check penalty on Hide and Move Silently checks.
6d8 racial hit die
Base attack bonus +6
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +5
Racial Skills: 9 x (8 + Int modifier).
Class skills: Climb, Gather Information, Hide, Knowledge (local), Listen, Move Silently, Sense Motive, Spot, and Tumble.
Racial Feats: Their outsider levels give them 3 feats.
+2 natural armor.
Automatic languages: Abyssal, Common
Bonus Languages: Celestial Draconic, Elven, Goblin, Infernal
Favored Class: Rogue
Level Adjustment: +5

(my apologies on less than elegant format. The book has the racial traits spread out between the racial trait entry and the cambion's table. Edited stats to be more consistent with rules.)

Assuming you are using a standard cambion (Character level 6, ECL 10 before class levels), you are obviously going to want to stay clear of most casting classes. Why? The mental ability score penalties, the starting HD, and the LA. What you do have, however, are decent physical ability scores, natural armor, the ability to hide and move silently in any armor to full effect, a few minor spell-like abilities, and the alternate form ability. In any case and addition to the various base classes you could take levels in, a number of prestige classes you can take without having to take base class levels as a cambion. Some examples include:

Assassin, Blackguard, Duelist (DMG)
Dervish, Exotic Weapon Master, Master Thrower, Occult Slayer, Purple Dragon Knight, Ravager, Reaping Mauler, Ronin, Tattooed Monk (CW)
Fortune's Friend (CS)
Pious Templar (CD)
Animal Lord, Bloodhound (CA)
Disciple of Mephistopheles, Warrior of Darkness (BoVD)
Sword of Righteousness (BoED)
Acolyte of the Ego, Witch Slayer (ToM)
Incandescent Champion, Incarnum Blade, Umbral Disciple (MoI)
Chaotician (PH)
Corrupt Avenger (If Cha is high enough) (HoH)
Topaz Guardian (LoM)
Scorpion Heritor (SS)
Tainted Warrior (If Cha is 16+) (UA)

[123456789blaaa]

Which book are these in?

[Xuldarinar]

Which book are these in?

Expedition to the Demonweb Pits.

[123456789blaaa]

Alright so looking them over, I'd say the biggest problem is that they suck. Horribly. That RHD combined with that hideous LA...they're even worse than normal Half-Fiends. Why would they give them -10 Cha? Why?. Why would they only give them a few crappy SLA's instead of the selection normal Half-Fiends get? Why? Why would they make them a creature instead of a template? Why? Why would they etc ete etc? Why?

So yeah. They don't even get the boost from the Half-Fiend web article. And I wouldn't even use the standard cambion in an E6 game (which have special rules that reduce the pain of LA). If I wanted to use them I'd honestly just completely redo them.

[Pluto!]

Medium Outsider (chaotic, evil, extraplanar)
6d8 racial hit die
Racial Skills: 9 x (2+Int modifier).
...
+5 Str, +3 Dex, +3 Con, -4 Wis (minimum 3), -10 Cha (minimum 2). If their Charisma penalty would reduce their Charisma score below 2, any remaining points are subtracted from Intelligence instead (minimum 3).
...
Favored Class: Assassin.

I don't think the writers knew how D&D works.

[Xuldarinar]

I don't think the writers knew how D&D works.

Well, i could certainly take 5 minutes and make some corrections from what the book had. I already corrected the Multiplier.


Edit: Done.

Book Entry|Entry Above
8 x (2 + Int Modifier)|9 + (8 + Int modifier)
+5 Str, +3 Dex, +3 Con|+6 Str, +4 Dex, +4 Con
Favored Class: Assassin|Favored Class: Rogue

[Phelix-Mu]

My memories are a little hazy, but I seem to recall that 2e presented cambions and alu-fiends as two types of results from fiend-mortal couplings, two sides of the coin, as it were. Not exactly the story the fluff was presenting here, but, eh, I'd probably stick with the old fluff anyway.

That said, they seemed to suck substantially less than this rendition suggest; but, at the same time, they were presented as fiends, not a player character race. In general, fiends make terrible player character races, because they have unusual stats mods (though not quite as unusual as those above), a crazy ton of special abilities, and a slew of resistances/immunities on top of outsider hit dice. Generally not an easy thing to balance.

That said, a decent monster class taking an immature cambion to full cambion powers could likely be homebrewed and not be totally hideous.

[Werephilosopher]

I don't think the writers knew how D&D works.

I believe one of the writers said those were a hangover from the editing stage and never got fixed. But either way, the cambion is notoriously bad in 3.5.